SF Prospect: Al-Farouq Aminu (Signed)

Update: Reports are that Aminu has signed a 1 year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans for $3.7m. It is perhaps the maximum they could offer him, $3,749,601, the value of his declined option.

New Orleans Pelicans fans, at least the ones that were here before the Holiday and Evans trades, will be quite familiar with Al-Farouq Aminu. The tamest wildcard small forward in the NBA has been the subject of a number of articles here at Bourbon Street Shots, including this Season in Review piece written by your humble narrator. Please refer to it if you wish to read more on Al-Farouq.

Aminu’s offense is very limited. Turning 23 this September, he’s one of the youngest 3 year veterans, and it shows in his offense. If Aminu has to to put the ball on the floor to get his shot, someone needs to get back on defense. For all of this athletic gifts, his indecisiveness and imprecision lead to busted plays and turnovers far too often.

I said at the start of the 2012-2013 Season that Aminu’s instructions should be something like this:

When the ball is passed to you, either take the ball to the basket if you have a clear lane or just shoot it without hesitation.

Anything else leads to badness.

His actual instructions, as it turned out, included a decent flavor of the above, and he was rewarded with the highest TS% of his career . . . which is about average.

A hidden component of his offense fits very well with what Monty has dangled in front of now-Pelicans fans for some time: Running. Aminu is a monster on the break. His lone scoring gift seems to be to get to the rim when defenses are not set. His athleticism and proportions seem to give him a greater than expected advantage, and he scores well in such situations.

As a corollary, but importantly, his offensive rebounding is among the best at his position, and it seems to stem from the same gift. He can’t out-think set defenses enough to allow his athleticism to give him the scoring advantage one might hope, but when everyone is as confused as him, it looks like a legitimate NBA star.

This lasts for about 2 seconds, of course.

Put offense down as a literal non-starter.

Defense

Aminu is good defender at his position. His one-on-one defense is often quite good, but the slightly-too-high number of egregious lapses take him out of the coveted “very good” status. The team was so poor defensively this past season, he may not grade out in a foolhardy attempt at an apples-to-apples comparison of defensive prowess with known walking brick walls, but attention to detail shows that he both has what it takes and often brings the necessary effort.

As a team defender he, as mentioned above, also suffers from mental lapses and occasional bouts of laziness. This lessened as the season went on, particularly after being benched for a time midway through the year.

His bounceback from this shows some coachability that not everyone was convinced he had.

Overall, put defense down as a strength.

Rebounding Rates

Aminu has the highest TRB% of any small forward playing at least 500 minutes (this excludes only Tyler Honeycutt and his 32 minutes spread across 9 games), at 16.9%. This also puts him at 34th among the 344 NBA players logging at least 500 minutes, placing him in the top 10% of all such players. This clearly puts him higher than a large number of centers and power forwards, as well.

Restricting the conversation to DRB%, the picture is even better, as this is Aminu’s true strength. He’s still first among small forwards at 26.2%, good for 14th in the NBA, right at the top 4th percentile. Omri Casspi’s 22.7% places him second in the category, 35th overall. Kevin Durant (20.4%, 66th overall), Draymond Green (20.3%, 70th overall), Paul Pierce and Luke Babbit (19.7%, tied for 75th overall) finish up the list of small forwards that are not exceeded by Aminu in DRB% by at least one third. Paul George’s 19% (83rd overall) leads the rest of the small forwards.

Focusing on ORB%, Aminu is third among small forwards with 7.9%, 91st overall, which is just outside the top 25% of NBA players. The small forwards who grab the offensive rebounds at a higher rate are DeMarre Carroll (9.1%, 65th overall) and . . . Lance Thomas (9%, tied for 89th overall with Chris Kaman just ahead of Aminu). Dante Cunningham (7.8%, 97th overall), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (7.2%, tied for 109th overall), Maruice Harkless (7%, tied for 115th overall) are the only small forwards with ORB% over 7%.

The story holds nearly the same when per minute statistics are examined. The dude can rebound, and no one can take that away from him. Not in the slightest.

Moreover, he surged ahead in the defensive rebounding category this season. Again, this shows coachability (and perhaps an able coach). Given a role he can succeed in, he thrives.

Can it continue?

Shooting in Detail

Shooting Accuracy is detailed in the image below:

Notes from Chart

First, ignore that green bit. That’s a sample size thing.

Second, ignore that yellow island off in the corner. Same deal.

The bit around the basket is what you want to see. That’s where Aminu has to get to to be effective. As a 215 lb. small forward, he’ll never dominate there, but that’s where he’s best.

Which bring us to the number of shots taken. He’s clearly focusing on shots near the basket, which are more efficient, and it’s brought him up to average, as mentioned above. Here’s the proof, though.

If he can develop a more credible jumper, the breakdown for which you can not see on this chart at all, he can make teams pay for letting him float on the outside.

How He Fits

Aminu fits ok but has the potential to fit quite well. He’s a defender, a strong rebounder, and great when running. This is exactly what Monty claims he wants more of. He can’t just stop his development, however. He has to progress.

On the other side, the Pelicans have to decide if his progression in the past year, their estimates of his ceiling, and if they think he’ll make enough progress to make him worth not bringing in a new player and starting fresh.

Aside from the shooting, he can fit. If he can shoot from distance a little better, he will fit.

Why You Should Want Him To Sign

The reason anyone should want Aminu is his rebounding. If you target him for any other reason, disappointment is in order. He can manage to stay on the court due to his defense, particularly without fouling, as long as he’s not having one of those nights . . . and he will have a couple each season, even at his best.

He knows what Monty is trying to do and has worked with Anderson, Davis, and Gordon. A neutral-to-good relationship and familiarity with your key players has advantages that are hard to find a substitute for.

His lack of scoring historically coupled with a recent increase likely depresses the demand for him. Thus, he should come at a value.

Lastly, Mason heard he wants to remain in New Orleans. That does count.

Expected Contract

This has long been a subject of debate. Aminu has failed to live up to most expectations, so much so that he his team option for the upcoming season was declined.

Based on the current market for players, I’d suggest a 2 year deal, $2.6m in the first year, equivalent to the Room MLE, second year fully unguaranteed. This is a step back in salary for him, but the market is depressed, and he seems to be on no one’s radar.

He could be a short-time starter with a more offensively-minded-and-bodied player to pick up the slack. Perhaps Miller, perhaps another pickup.

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98 Comments

Pelican Poster

July 5, 2013 at 6:08 pm

Given his age, familiarity with the system and cost, I think he is a no brainer to sign. Would not mind him seeing a litte D-league action just to give him more time on the court to develop offensively. I agree with your comments regarding his defense. His build and athleticism, when combined with an overall defensive improvement by the team, should see him enter the “very good” category.

Would love to see afa back in the fold, especially if we’re going to be running more. Would make a great complement to a shooter like cope land.
Small thing but with a slew of roster changes, some continuity, guys who know / have bought into Monty’s system are a plus.

I’m not sure his potential growth should figure at all in any computation of his return; theoretically if he did return his role would be somewhere in the 15-20 minute range per game (as the early game starter til Evans enteredO, which probably will not give him enough game time to really develop further. His shooting process is S-L-O-W and ugly, and that high arc seems to betray an unconfident shooter with haphazard accuracy. Where he is now is probably where he will be for the next several years. His rebounding is elite, but his defense seems erratic. If this was a real run n’ gun team I think he would be a good choice at SF – and for all we know, perhaps with Jrue running the point alongside a healthy Gordon and Evans they will become more aggressive on the break – as it would minimize his weaknesses and play to his strengths, but if we are yet again a plodding half-court team (goodness … I pray not!) I’d rather Miller play those minutes, as he at least offers some the prospect of consistency, albeit a mediocre form of it.

At it stands at the moment, I wouldn’t object to bringing Aminu back on a cheap contract with little to no money guaranteed beyond the first year. He gives you elite rebounding and some defence.
In my dreams, he spent the off-season on a piligrimage to the High Temple of Three Point Shooting (located deep in the Himalayas), where Dalai Stoyachovic made him practice corner 3s until his hands bled. In reality, he’s still Aminu, and maybe he’s just a placeholder on the bench until Miller develops, or we find a better option.
Three point shooters have been the hot commodity this offseason. Ideally I hope we could find someone who’s a threat from 3 to complement Anderson and could at least play passable defence at the small forward slot.

Wouldn’t be that bad if we sign and trade Aminu and Anderson to Rockets for asik and parsons. Starting five would be holiday, Gordon, evans or parsons, anthony davis asik, then evans or parsons for your sixth man

DavidLBrown His contract stinks and he’s not much of an upgrade at the position…also a horrible FT shooter…52.7% on his career…hell Dwight can just about do that…we don’t need a hack-an-asik! (an = proper English :))

504ever

July 5, 2013 at 9:03 pm

Houpgarou
It’s just a rumor! And one that doesn’t make sense. It has now been supplanted by the Asik for Josh Smith rumor. (So step away from the ledge. There is miles of room inland to stand and watch from.)
Here is why it makes no sense. Houston needs Anderson for the same reason we do: outside shooting for open the lane for a high quality traditional big man. Also, Houston currently has better perimeter shooting than we do and we need a C with a better offensive game outside of 5′. So if it seems to make no sense, Dell won’t do it.

Houpgarou
Like in Mason’s recent tweet? Or Howard going to the Lakers so Houston keeps Asik?

504ever

July 5, 2013 at 10:35 pm

Houpgarou
OOOPS! Or Asik goes to Houston is a sign and trade that benefits both teams.

pelicans247

July 5, 2013 at 7:54 pm

Just saw a rumor we signed Aminu to one year 3 million deal. I expect a sign and trade with New York for Chris copeland based off of new york’s interest of him and our interest in Copeland.. I wouldn’t agree with this trade because Aminu has played in three seasons to copeland’s one, while Aminu is just 22 and Copeland is 29.

pelicans247
Copeland has signed with Indy and Knicks can’t match because of salary cap rules. So Coleland to Indy is a done deal.

I am very happy the Pelicans signed Aminu. Would have preferred a longer deal at less per year, like $2.5M/year for three years, instead of reported $3.7M for one year. Does higher salary for Aminu this year mean Pelicans out of the running for Wright because of limited cap space? That Pels will sign Wright and know how much they have left for Aminu? (I assume Pels have too little cap space to sign Brewer no matter what.)

We just resigned Aminu according to sources I like him more as a guy off the bench than a starter
P.S I’ve supported every move this off-season but if we trade Ryan Anderson I will lose it if he’s gone I feel this 3guard line up will fail without his shooting.

Jason Calmes U DA MAN…didn’t know if you could do the redline crayon on it or not!

thouse

July 5, 2013 at 9:48 pm

Glad they resigned Aminu. I’m pulling for him. Despite the lapses, he really showed signs of being a legit NBA player this season. I hope he busts his ass and develops a corner 3- if he can do that I dont care if he never learns how to dribble.
My God, he would be the perfect fit if he could just hit that shot at a reasonable level

Pelican Poster
I’m hoping its:
Start: Holiday, Gordon, Aminu, Smith, Davis
Reserves: Evans, Rivers, Thomas?/Miller?, Anderson, Withey
But Aminu can be a small 4, and Evans can be a small 3, and Smith can back up the 5.

josephplum Pelican Posterhttp://www.livefyre.com/profile/15554635/, I think you got it right. Aminu still is the starting 3, what is more important is who will finish games, and there it will be Evans, Anderson at F’s, Davis at C, and Evans and Holiday in the backcourt. Yes, Aminu can play 3 or 4, Smith can play 4 or 5. I think they may bring back Amundson, though he is smaller, he is a battler and can give tough minus at PF and C.

PeliCAN You Dig It

July 5, 2013 at 11:47 pm

I like Al-Farouq, but I’d like him a lot better if he were Dorell Wright’s backup.

The road to the playoffs is going through Houston we need another big or two and an SF.Lessons from the last time the Hornets/Pelicans were the playoffs is that they needed an strong frontcourt.With Howard in our divison we’re going to need an bigger frontcourt.

Papa Pelican
What’s wrong with Withey, Davis, Smith, and Anderson? And who does Houston have besides Howard and about to be traded Asik at C or PF who worries you?

Papa Pelican

July 6, 2013 at 7:32 am

Howard,Harden and Josh Smith(If traded) they might not be like the Heat big three but they’ll still be a threat in our divison.Withey is an unproven rookie we can’t throw him to the dogs like we did with Davis and we need a vet at center anyway because one we don’t no draft pick next year and two we not a rebuliding team.

Houpgarou

July 6, 2013 at 10:04 am

You can throw withey in the flames ( he’s 23, and we not handling him like fine china ala the big ez) , only question ids if he can take the heat

Pelican Poster

July 6, 2013 at 12:43 pm

Davis was absolutely not thrown to the wolves last year. Williams even took heat for sitting him out for stretches of time, especially late in the game versus the Lakers when they mounted their incredible comeback. Williams knows well and has stated as such, that he was not going to put Davis in that situation and kept his word, possibly To our detriment, but not Davis’s.

RobertWelch

July 6, 2013 at 4:49 pm

Papa Pelican I don’t see Houston as the road to the playoffs in the West, at least not yet. It’s still San Antonio for now and OKC, maybe LAC after that. I’d say Houston will be in the mix with Memphis and Golden State for the next rung on the ladder. We will have to be competitive with Houston, and I think we will. But trying to just be a team that can beat Houston isn’t going to ensure you are going to the finals, they will have to gel as a team, and we’ll see if that ever really happens. Dwight isn’t a proven champion yet, Harden is still the star of that team until Howard proves he can carry them in the tough situations. Besides, I really wonder if his back will hold up. The surgery he had is a temporary fix, there is no permanent fix for the problems he has with his back, it’s a ticking time bomb. His opportunity to be the impact player everyone assumes he is will not last the way everyone seems to think it will.

jdtufts10

July 5, 2013 at 11:57 pm

So just some food for thought…. Iggy to GS means that he will be their starting SF, so what happens to Harrison Barnes? Just was thinking about this today, dude would be an ideal fit for the pels, and seems like the type of player Monty and Dell want in the organization. As a bonous as well, we would be in the age area that Dell is looking for talent in, so what does everyone think. Could he possibly be on the market, could the pels have a chance to land him, would love to hear what everyone thinks, especially the moderators.

I see that nobody likes the idea of losing Anderson for Asik. But, Any idea if an Anderson-Aminu vs Asik-Parsons swap might happen? We can get the much needed rebounding Center in the middle and I think Parsons is a very good 3PT shooter and he can easily be inserted into the starting lineup.
Believe it or not, Parsons has a better 3PT% (.385) than Anderson (%.382) Anderson is 2nd in the NBA in attempted and made 3PT while Parsons is the 22nd in attempted and 20th in made.
Yes, Rockets might not want to give up Parsons since he is on such a great contract but now they are very weak in PF position and this might be a multi-team trade and Parsons and Asik might be the price they have to pay to get Howard along with maybe Josh Smith if at all possible. We have Smith and Davis. And we can replace Anderson’s sharpshooting with Parsons’.
Asik is a much better defender than Lopez and a terrific rebounder. He is not a good offensive player but do you think we’d need his offense when Holiday-Gordon and Evans is on the court at the same time!?
You give up Anderson but you can get the much needed improvements in both SF and C at the same time. I know it is difficult but what would you think? For example, Any idea
if the Heat-Hawks-Pelicans pull a 3-team trade sending Smith to Houston,
Parsons and Asik to Pelicans and Anderson to Hawks. But, I heard that
Hawks signed Millsap. 🙁

I got this from Wiki: “Teams can sign players for the NBA’s minimum salary even if they are
over the cap, for up to two years in length. In the case of two-year
contracts, the second-season salary is the minimum salary for that
season. The contract may not contain a signing bonus. This exception
also allows minimum-salary players to be acquired via trade. There is no
limit to the number of players that can be signed or acquired using
this exception.”
Is it your understanding we can sign all of our remaining rostered players and both 2nd round picks to minimum salaries, until we hit the maximum roster size, and not have them count against the cap? If so how much in cap space do we have remaining to sign a new player, hopefully a SF like Wright or Brewer? (I know we still have the $2.6M Room MLE which can’t be combined with our cap space.)

Thrilled. Thrilled! Welcome back AFA! Sure, Iggy would have been great and all, but this is a YOUTH movement! AFA is a smallball 4. Think of the speed of a Jrue, EG, Tyreke, AFA, Davis line up! I hope AFA starts with Smith, and then the second unit would have Anderson and Evans. Sick. Sick McNasty. The Pelicans still need a 3 point shooting wing that can play a little D, but we’re so close to deep playoff status! Don’t discount continuity!

Sadly, from my point of view, Wright reportedly signed a deal for $6M over two years with Portland. I wish it had been the Pelicans. (Maybe Dell heard Wright was going to Portland and so signed Aminu as a fall back plan?)

504ever I never really heard that we had very much interest in Wright, sadly. I always heard OKC and Portland were the top suitors. I think Dell was looking for defense and rebounding, not shooting. I just can’t get over the one year. Aminu is young and has room to grow. If you believe in him enough to give him $3.7m, then why only one year? Is there a good group of SF in next year’s class that Dell has an eye on? What’s the market for SF next year look like?

AngryCookies Who is left that you like better at SF? Garcia just re-signed with Rockets…

Pelican Poster

July 6, 2013 at 9:30 pm

AngryCookies I’m not a big Brewer fan, but it sounds like he’s a great defender, brings a lot of energy, and an upbeat attitude…certainly some positives…know he’s not a great shooter, but has at least some ability to knock trey’s down from the corners at a good rate…(41% left side)

AngryCookies

July 6, 2013 at 9:34 pm

I don’t think we wil bring in another SF Aminu is a good defender and brings a lot of energy he’s not a shooter but I think Darius Miller should get consistent minutes off the bench he can defend and shoot the three.

Pelican Poster

July 6, 2013 at 9:39 pm

AngryCookies I agree Miller will likely be a little better…just not really comfortable with Aminu as the starter…from what you listed sounds like Aminu is a younger version of Brewer, but Brewer can at least shoot a “little” better from the outside

AngryCookies

July 6, 2013 at 10:29 pm

Also Andrei Kirklienko is still a free agent

Pelican Poster

July 6, 2013 at 11:04 pm

AngryCookies Not enough money to sign him

Pelican Poster

July 6, 2013 at 11:11 pm

AngryCookies 9.8 million last year…turned down a $10.2 million option

AngryCookies

July 7, 2013 at 2:03 am

I actually think we are done signing free agents unless we sign another center

AngryCookies

July 6, 2013 at 9:09 pm

I don’t understand all the love for Corey Brewer dude can’t shoot was a bust I’m Minnesota and a ok backup in Denver I don’t want him and apparently neither does Dell so get talking about him.

Cuz there’s more to the game than shooting, dudes calling card is as a defensive bulldog, something every team needs. His shooting is below average but not awful, he’s not far off from becoming like 4 time champion Bruce bowen

Don’t sleep on Matt Lojeski. The Pels still can use a knock down 3-pt shooter and they may already have their man on their summer league team. Matt Lojeski is a 6’6 SF from the Euro League who played at Hawaii and had been deadly as a 3-pt assassin in Europe. Much like Brian Robert last year he is 27-yr old who has had great success in Europe, honing his skills and may now be ready to make it to the NBA.

Pelican Poster JefferyDuplessis He was on the initial roster that came out, but not on the latter, I did notice that, but according to several Euro Hoop insiders he is playing on the Pelicans summer league team, but he is still under contract in Belgium. So if the Pels are interested in keeping him they would have to negotiate a buyout of his contract.

Pelican Poster

July 7, 2013 at 8:17 pm

I watched video of the guy and he does have a nice shot…got sime hops…same height as Evans though

Houpgarou

July 7, 2013 at 5:05 pm

Perfect candidate to be our token starter at the 3- antawn Jamison- brinks wisdom, rebounding and shooting. Comes to the bench in favor of the Evans aminu Anderson group but can back up 4 if we want to go real small. Has coverage from afa or reke on nights his footspeed on d is hurting us

this is beyond speculation , but do think theirs any chance that this Aminu signing is in a way just as much a statement on development of Miller as a player, maybe Dells seen enough progress out of Miller this summer to be comfortable moving forward with Aminu knowing Miller will get regular minutes ??

dxxpxx How about his “on court” issues? Never forget him clotheslining someone on the Hornets…anybody remember who that was? Don’t want that guy at any price…but if he wasn’t a knucklehead I would agree